Advanced Snowshoe April 9, 2016

The route follows a magnificent granite ridge that climbs above the treeline. You’ll enjoy snowshoeing along this high ridge, passing through forests of stunted subalpine trees. Although the terrain is rugged, the route offers safety from avalanches. Professional guides will lead this trip, and gear can be rented from Hope Mountain Centre.

This trip will introduce you to an exciting snowshoe route while teaching avalanche safety and safe winter travel.

This program is FULL, but please leave your name and contact information on the wait list as there may be cancellations. Click on the blue PROGRAM REGISTRATION button and you will be provided directions for joining the wait list.

Participants must be in reasonably good physical condition, as the route demands at least 1 hour of steep climbing before gaining the ridge, followed by a steady climb up the ridge for another 1.5 hours. Elevation gain is 600 metres (2,000 feet) over 4 km of trail distance. Round-trip distance is 8 km.

Participants must arrange their own transportation. Participants will gather at the Rec. Centre (1005 – 6th Avenue in Hope), and convoy in vehicles up Highway-5 to the trailhead (Exit #217, 46 km east of Hope). How to Find Zopkias Rest Area Parking Lot: Drive northeast out of Hope on Highway-5 for approximately 50 km. After driving through the Great Bear Snow Shed, start looking on your right for the highway exit into the Zopkias Rest Area – NOTE – THE EXIT SIGN IS MISSING DURING WINTER MONTHS, so the exit will be unmarked by any sign! Be sure to take the FIRST EXIT you see on your RIGHT after driving through the Great Bear Snow Shed. Washrooms are available at the Zopkias Rest Area.

Everyone age 19 & over must sign a liability waiver form in order to participate in this program. Please take the time to read this form because you must understand and agree to it when you sign it. By signing it you are waiving certain rights, including the right to sue. These forms will be available to sign when you check in. Please seek legal counsel if you have any questions.

If a registration is cancelled 7 days or more before a program starts, HMCOL will refund the program fee and equipment rental fees (as applicable) minus an administrative cost of $20 per person. Program and equipment rental fees will not be refunded if a cancellation is received less than 7 days before the start of a program. A program may be cancelled at the discretion of HMCOL. If a program is cancelled, participants will receive a full refund of program and equipment fees.

A NOTE ABOUT LIABILITY

Hope Mountain Centre carries liability insurance and maintains excellent safety records. Due to the nature of outdoor programs, these trips do involve some personal risk. Hope Mountain Centre assumes no responsibility for personal injury or damage to personal property and we will require each participant to sign a liability release and assumption of risk form before participating in this program. Please be aware that activities typical of this program involve many risks, dangers and hazards including, but not limited to: accidents which occur during transportation or travel to and from events; slips and falls; loss of balance; impact, cold water immersion; repetitive strain injuries; dislocated shoulders; hypothermia, frostbite, sunburn; changing and inclement weather conditions including storms, blizzards, whiteouts and high wind; steepness of terrain, tree wells, crevasses; avalanches, cornices, landslides and falling ice, snow and objects; encounters with domestic or wild animals; negligence on the part of releasees and other participants. While we love animals of all kinds, we ask that you please leave your pet at home.

Snow shovels were provided by Mountain Equipment Co-op through their Grassroots Product Donations Program. Additional funding was also provided through FortisBC’s Community Investment Program.

PROGRAM PARTNERS

Advanced Snowshoe at Coquihalla Summit.

This program is FULL, but please leave your name and contact information on the wait list as there may be cancellations. Click on the blue PROGRAM REGISTRATION button and you will be provided directions for joining the wait list. Please contact us at 604-869-1274, or email lklassen@hopemountain.org for additional information.

TRIP LEADERS

Stan Clark

Program Leader

Stan has been mountaineering since the age of 15 and attended an Army Outward Bound School in Wales, UK while still a teenager. Later, he spent 18 years as an infantryman and a paratrooper in the Canadian Forces. After becoming a BC Park Ranger in 2009, he enjoyed a season of patrolling in Garibaldi and another season in Seymour and Cypress Provincial Parks. Highlights of this rewarding backcountry work included educating the public on backcountry safety, search and rescue operations, and providing observations for the North Shore Avalanche Advisory. Stan now volunteers with the BC Army Cadet Program and is employed as a contract outdoor instructor for youth and corporate groups in the Lower Mainland.

Kelly Pearce

Program Director

Kelly is a Hope resident and Program Director for the Hope Mountain Centre. He has taught ecology and human history in the North Cascades for 20 years.